Themes
Only a handful of keeps built before 1868 survived the dismantling of castles in the Meiji era, wars and disasters. Inside, the creaking floors, steep stairs and narrow windows are original.
In-depth article
Hirosaki, Aomori
弘前城
An original Edo-period keep is moving on rails right now: shifted aside 11 years ago so its stone base could be rebuilt, it is on its way back in 2026.
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Matsumoto, Nagano
松本城
A black keep built for war is joined to a red-railed moon-viewing turret built in a time of peace.
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Sakai, Fukui
丸岡城
An original castle keep that collapsed with its stone base in an earthquake, then was put back together using more than 70 percent of its old timbers.
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Inuyama, Aichi
犬山城
Atop a cliff over the Kiso River stands a keep built before the Edo period, and you can walk all the way around its top-floor balcony looking down on the river and the Nobi Plain.
In-depth article
Hikone, Shiga
彦根城
A castle of reuse: its National Treasure keep is said to have come from Otsu Castle, and other buildings and even wall stones from other castles.
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Himeji, Hyogo
姫路城
A 400-year-old main keep and its three smaller keeps still stand linked by covered corridors, never burned by battle or by bombing.
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Matsue, Shimane
松江城
Two prayer tablets dated "first month of Keicho 16" (early 1611) turned up, and that discovery helped make this keep a National Treasure.
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Takahashi, Okayama
備中松山城
Of the 12 original Edo-period keeps left in Japan, this is the only one that stands on a mountaintop.
In-depth article
Marugame, Kagawa
丸亀城
A small original keep, about 15 m tall, is lifted high by tier upon tier of stone walls, walls that collapsed in 2018 and are still being rebuilt today.
In-depth article
Matsuyama, Ehime
松山城
The keep was finished the year after Perry's Black Ships arrived, and its roof tiles bear the hollyhock crest of the Tokugawa clan.
In-depth article
Uwajima, Ehime
宇和島城
Both the Edo-period keep and an Edo-period wooden model of it, built at one-tenth scale, survive.
In-depth article
Kōchi, Kochi
高知城
The lord's palace is still attached to the side of the keep, and the whole Edo-period main enclosure survives intact.
